Oh I've been so blind
I've wasted timeWasted, wasted, oh so much time
Walking on the wire, high wire
Leo Sayer sang about the high wire decades ago, and we saw two new performances this week.
First, FOX settled the defamation suit filed against it by a voting machine company. The late, great John McLaughlin once said "A bad settlement is better than a good judgement." While there were some First Amendment issues here, and you never know what can happen when a case goes before a jury, there was no way FOX could let this go to court, even if it cost the corporation three-quarters of a billion dollars.
Take your licks, cut the check, and hope to move on. Even if it won, FOX was going to expose a lot of dirty and internal laundry. That was capable of more damage than the big check needed to settle the suit.
The other high wire act came in downtown Scranton Tuesday. It was former Bishop James Timlin's funeral. Timlin was beloved to many, reviled by many. There were decades of service to the faithful, but concrete evidence he covered up sexual abuse of children in the diocese.
Diocese administration took the middle road and stayed on the high wire. Timlin was entitled to a Christian funeral, and his failure to protect children was also acknowledged. Was it enough, on both sides? That's up for you to decide.
FOX News is still on cable. Churches are still open.
The show must go on.
